Harry was awakened by his aunt's raving and ranting. "GET UP! UP, BOY, UP!" "I'm up," came Harry's voice through the cupboard door. "IT'S DUDLEY'S BIRTHDAY! GET OUT HERE AND FINISH BREAKFAST!" Harry got out of the cupboard, and walking into the kitchen. He got to the stove, when his uncle said, "You'd best not burn anything, boy. Where's my coffee?" Harry got his uncle's coffee, and then finished cooking the bacon. A raven flew in; it had two letters. It handed one to Petunia, and then flew into Harry's cupboard. "WHAT WAS THAT THING," roared Harry's Uncle. Petunia looked at the envelope, like it would kill her to touch it. She opened it, took the letter out, and read it.
Petunia,
Very sorry to contact you like this, but it was the only way I could
considering, I have no idea where your address is. The raven has a
tracking device, just to let you know. He'll stay out of the way. I'm
coming in a few days, to pick up Harry and take him to Hogwarts.
I can just imagine your face, at my mentioning of Lily's school, and
now your sister. I hope that your husband, Vineyard, or what ever his
name was, doesn't piss me off. I'm having a hard enough time trying to
deal with my own Uncle.
Also please make sure, Harry is in good shape. If he isn't you'd better
not be near me. My father would be thoroughly pissed at that.
Your Cousin, Christine
P.S. Don't hurt my raven, and let Harry have his letter! If a big dog finds Harry, no worries. His name is Padfoot. :P
Petunia
was very shocked at the last paragraph. Chris must have been in a
pretty bad mood when she wrote this letter. "Harry, Get to your
cupboard now," said Petunia. Harry listened, and went to his cupboard,
as Dudley came thundering down the stairs. Dudley pushed him in and
locked the door. Vernon was now reading the letter. Dudley came in the
kitchen and ate his breakfast.
Sirius made his way to number four
Privet Drive. Dogcatchers had almost caught him but he ran into an
alley. At last he was here. He made sure it was the right house. Yep,
he thought, number four. I hope Harry's here and not at some damn
orphanage. He started scratching the door, and whining. Petunia opened
the door. Her eyes filled, with fear. There was the big dog just like
Chris said in her letter. "I take it your here to see Harry," she
asked. Damn, muggles are pretty smart, thought Sirius as he happily
barked. She unlocked the cupboard and shoved the dog in.
Harry was reading his letter.
Harry,
You don't know me but our fathers were very good friends, and our
mothers, cousins. I'm coming to pick you up for Hogwarts in a few days.
Knowing Petunia, she didn't tell you a damn thing, did she?
You are a wizard. Both you parents were as well. Only my father was a
wizard. My mother was a muggle, or non-magical person. If you meet up
with a big dog, don't worry. His name is Padfoot, and he's very sweet.
By the way, could you take care of my raven until I get there? Thank
you. I will explain more on the way from your Uncle's house to your
godfather's. The raven's name is Cy.
Your Cousin, Christine
Just as he finished reading, the cupboard door opened and a big dog was shoved inside. He looked at the dog for a while, then said, "Padfoot?" The dog seemed taken back, that Harry knew his name. "Christine was right," said Harry, "Your name is Padfoot." Christine, thought Sirius, where have I heard that name before?
Harry woke up to someone banging on the door.
"PETUNIA," a girl's voice yelled, "OPEN THE DOOR!"
BANG! BANG! He heard the girl growl in frustration.
"She's not here," Harry called out. The Dursley's had left for week when Petunia explained that Christine was a 'Freak'. They had locked him in the cupboard with Padfoot and Cy.
"Hope you're not in the way," said the girl. Harry didn't know what she meant, until he heard an explosion. He heard a crash in the kitchen and then his cupboard unlocking, before a girl's head popped in.
"Hiya, Harry," she said, "I'm Christine. Chris for short. Or if you'd prefer, Paws."
"Okay." She got out of the way so Harry could come out. He got a better look at Christine. She was about 5 feet 6 inches tall and looked to be about 15 or 16. Her black hair went down to her mid-back and was tied back. Her eyes were a strange shade of silver with specs of bluish gray in them. Harry realized he was staring when Christine spoke.
"Yes, I realize my eyes are weird. But considering I'm only half-human, they're normal."
"Half-human?" Harry questioned. Christine nodded.
"Yup. My dad was a human wizard, and my mom was a muggle Grim Reaper."
"Grim Reaper?"
"Yup. Probably why Petunia, Vineyard, and Big Fat Piggy ran off."
"Okay." Harry looked around for what the explosion was. He saw the door was missing. He looked into the kitchen and spotted the door on the floor with char marks on it. Christine laughed nervously and said something about 'pyrokenisis' before spotting the raven that had brought Harry his letter.
"Hey, Cy. You can change back now," she said smiling at the bird. Harry looked at her like she was crazy (AN: though I'm not saying she's not), until the raven started to grow and change form. Where the raven once was, now stood a young man, about a half-inch taller than Christine. His hair was also black but was shorter, to his shoulders, and tied in a loose ponytail. His eyes were the same silver as Christine, but there was more bluish-gray in them.
"Harry meet Cyrus, a.k.a. Cy, my younger twin brother," said Christine, putting the emphasis on younger.
"You're only older by two minutes," said Cy, with a small frown. Christine was about to reply but a lamp fell down. Christine also heard a light voice saying 'Shit.' Because her animagus form was a wolf she had better hearing than most. That and the fact that Grim Reapers have naturally excellent hearing. Cy however only heard a whisper and couldn't make it out.
"Lamp's don't usually fall down on their own," said Cy.
"It's Regulus ," said Christine, "Help Harry pack his things. I'll deal with our Uncle." Cy grabbed a bag out of his pocket and started shoving things from the cupboard into it.
Christine was trying to figure out where the invisibility cloak clad Regulus was. Padfoot came out of the cupboard and looked confusedly at Christine. All of a sudden he felt someone step on his tail. He yelped. Christine quickly shot a spell at the air behind Padfoot. She heard a thump and knew she hit her target. She walked over to Padfoot and pulled the cloak off Regulus.
"Looks like I've got a new cloak," said Christine. Cy had finished helping Harry pack and led Harry outside to a truck. Padfoot jumped in the bed of the truck along with Harry's belongings. Harry got in the middle with Cy next to him. Harry saw Christine go back into the house with a black box in her hand and an evil grin on her face.
"Not again," Cy groaned.
Chris came back out laughing, got in the drivers seat and left Privet Drive. Half way down the road Cy spoke.
"Alright what did you do?"
"Whatever are you talking about, dear brother, " said Chris in a sewwt voice.
"Regulus. What did you do to Regulus?"
"Oh, him. I gave him some polyjuice potion."
"Some what? With whose hair?"
"A chiuaua's."
"Oh, okay. As long as it wasn't mine. I thought polyjuice didn't work right with animal hair."
"It doesn't," said Chris, with a big grin.
"Um…what's a polyjuice potion," asked Harry
"It's a potion that turns you into another person for an hour. But you need a piece of that person's hair. Animal hair, however, will thurn you into a half-human, half-animal hybrid. And for several weeks," said Cy.
"So this Regulus guy," Harry tailed off.
"Is half-chiuaua for quite a while," said Chris, "Ah. We're here. Welcome, Harry, to Grimmuald Place." Chris parked, grabbed Harry's stuff and walked inside. Cy, Harry, and Padfoot followed her.